Rogue Ales Chocolate Stout Sweet Stout at 5.8% ABV | 69 IBU (C$9.99 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 17-Feb-2017, reviewed 18-Feb-2017)
Appearance: near opaque black with the merest hints of brown around the margins, one fat finger of dense light brown head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: chocolate, roasty malt, mild coffee. (7/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: full body, moderate carbonation, lingering bitter finish. (3/5)
I recently tried their Hazelutely Choctabulous, but hadn’t tried its 40% component, so decided I’d give it a shot. And, having closed the circle on this, it all makes sense now. This is dominated by bitter chocolate, with no hint of milk chocolate sweetness, making it not as one-dimensional as the 60% component Hazelnut Nectar, but definitely simple. Combining this one’s bitterness and chocolate flavours with the nutty sweetness of the Hazelnut Nectar basically provide all the components for a candy bar, and makes Hazelutely Choctabulous greater than the sum of its parts. (And yes, I retained some of both components and mixed them myself. Calling it “magic” might be gilding the lily a tad, but it’s definitely worth doing, if you can lay hands on both components but not the blended bottle.) (14/20)
7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
